Knicks-Heat Preview

By TAYLOR BECHTOLDPosted Apr 02 2013 12:06PM

The New York Knicks have the NBA's longest active winning streak and are one of only three teams with a winning record against the Miami Heat.

While the Heat will be short-handed, they should have plenty of extra incentive when the rivals wrap up their season series Tuesday night in Miami.

The defending champion Heat (58-15) sit alone atop the NBA after winning 29 of 30 and have built a sizable advantage over division leaders New York (46-26) and Indiana in the Eastern Conference.

Even with LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Mario Chalmers sitting out, Miami moved closer to securing home-court advantage throughout the playoffs Sunday when Chris Bosh hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 1.9 seconds left in an 88-86 victory at West-leading San Antonio.

The absences of James (hamstring), Wade (ankle) and Chalmers (ankle) takes some of the luster off this contest, but the Heat have been able to play well with makeshift lineups. James missed his first game Sunday, and the Heat are 6-1 without Wade.

"We are the defending champs no matter who we put out there," Bosh said. "We are still the Miami Heat. We believe in ourselves. Each one of these guys is a professional."

Since Miami's 27-game winning streak came to end in Chicago on Wednesday, New York has owned the league's top winning streak. The Knicks extended their run to eight with a 108-89 home victory over Boston on Sunday.

They also took another step toward their first Atlantic Division title in 19 years by taking a 4 1/2-game lead on second-place Brooklyn.

"I think we're just clicking at the right time," swingman Iman Shumpert said. "Going in the playoffs, everybody's got a different focus. Guys got a little more pep in their step and everybody's locked in."

The Knicks haven't won nine in a row since winning 15 straight during the 1993-94 season and they'll face their toughest test of the streak against the Heat, who have the league's second-best home record at 32-3.

Miami has already wrapped up its third straight Southeast Division title and home-court advantage in the East. The Heat will try to earn a split of the season series after dropping the first two by 20 points each and rallying to win the last meeting 99-93 in New York on March 3.

The Pacers and Bulls are also 2-1 against Miami this season.

The Heat will have to find a way to replace James' season averages of 27.7 points, 9.3 rebounds and 7.0 assists against the Knicks. Bosh, however, has scored 13.3 per game while shooting 35.7 percent.

New York has limited opponents to 91.5 points per game during its streak and has held the Heat to 91.7 - 11.6 below their season average.

Carmelo Anthony missed the Knicks' 112-92 victory in Miami on Dec. 6 because of a lacerated finger. He's averaged 34.5 points in his last four games against the Heat, including the 2012 playoffs.

Knicks All-Star center Tyson Chandler, who has missed the past 10 games with a neck injury, is expected to be a game-time decision.

The Knicks have scored 107.8 per game and hit 41.1 percent from 3-point range over their last five contests. They'll likely have a difficult time matching that production against a Miami defense that has limited opponents to an average of 82.3 points and 24.6 percent shooting from beyond the arc in its last three at home.

The Heat have won nine of 11 meetings in Miami, including three victories in last year's playoffs.

Copyright 2013 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited

Anthony scores 50 as Knicks beat Heat 102-90

By TIM REYNOLDSPosted Apr 03 2013 12:04AM

MIAMI (AP) Carmelo Anthony released his final shot of the night then skipped backward, already knowing the outcome.

The shot was good.

For Anthony and the New York Knicks, the outcome was even better.

Relying entirely on jumpers, Anthony tied his career high with 50 points and the Knicks won their ninth straight game, topping the injury-depleted Miami Heat 102-90 on Wednesday night.

"I felt good tonight," Anthony said.

There was no arguing that.

Anthony finished 18 of 26 from the field, taking two dribbles to free himself from Shane Battier and make his last shot with 16.9 seconds remaining to get to 50 and send the Knicks' bench into hysterics. It was the third time he scored 50 in his career, and it came with Miami's LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Mario Chalmers all sidelined by injuries.

"I think just from the start of the game, it's a feeling that you just have while you're out there on the court," Anthony said. "Sometimes you get off to a good start and then you get cold the rest of the game, but tonight wasn't one of those cases."

No, it was not.

He made his first seven shots, and the fact that he had 37 points before notching any other statistic of note - no rebounds, assists, steals or blocked shots until the third quarter - let everyone in the building know that he was all about a scoring spree.

And the Heat had no answers.

"It's an inopportune time to announce my candidacy for defensive player of the year," Battier said. "Carmelo had a hell of a game. ... That's a game that drives the analytics guys crazy because he didn't attempt a shot within 15 feet of the basket. Most nights, we'll take that every single time. And he made a ton of shots. Made a ton of shots. And that's to his credit."

J.R. Smith scored 14 and Raymond Felton added 10 for New York.

Chris Bosh scored 23 points for Miami, which beat San Antonio on Sunday without James, Wade and Chalmers, but managed only 32 second-half points against the Knicks. Mike Miller scored 18, Ray Allen finished with 16 and Norris Cole had 14 for the Heat, whose 17-game home winning streak was snapped.

The Knicks beat the Heat in three of their four regular-season matchups. They likely would not meet again before the Eastern Conference finals.

"I don't think that team will lack confidence against anybody," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "That's just the nature of who they are."

Miami's magic number for clinching home-court throughout the NBA playoffs remained at five, and the Heat already have the No. 1 spot in the Eastern Conference wrapped up. The Knicks now lead Brooklyn by five games in the race for the Atlantic Division title.

It was only Miami's second loss in its last 31 games.

Much of the star power was taken out of the equation more than eight hours before game time, when the Heat announced that James, Wade and Chalmers would not play. James has a sore hamstring, and Wade and Chalmers are dealing with ankle sprains.

All are listed as day-to-day.

"The No. 1 thing, obviously, is try to get as healthy as we can," Spoelstra said. "Obviously, that's a priority. From there, we have time to still try to improve - not just stay in rhythm, but to improve, and also get these guys an opportunity that haven't been getting minutes to play in these meaningful minutes. We didn't script San Antonio or this like this to happen, but that's what this league is about. It's unpredictable."

Anthony surely did not mind their absences.

He made three shots, a combined 65 feet of swished jumpers, in the game's first 2:17 as the Knicks ran out to an 8-0 lead. Plenty of blue-and-orange shirts in the Miami crowd roared, and the early indications were that Anthony was on his way to a monster night and the Knicks were on their way to a blowout victory.

Anthony came in averaging 27.5 points and was practically there by halftime with 27 on 9-for-12 shooting - a display the Knicks absolutely needed, since Miami more than held its own without James, Wade and Chalmers.

After trailing by as many as nine early, Miami actually roared back to lead 58-50 at the half. Miller and Cole combined for 30 at the break; Miller's 18 were five more than he had scored in any game this season.

Anthony - who had one more field goal than every other Knick managed, combined, in the first 24 minutes - didn't exactly cool off at halftime. By the time the third quarter was 4 minutes old, Anthony was up to 37 points.

"We actually played pretty good defense on him," Miller said.

Anthony's first rebound came with 7:02 left in the third, and his first assist came as the clock was expiring to end the period, setting up Steve Novak for a 3-pointer from the right corner that allowed New York to take a 78-76 lead into the final 12 minutes.

Anthony actually went 10 minutes without scoring, then made two jumpers - the second a 3-pointer - 40 seconds apart, giving the Knicks a 95-88 lead with 3:32 left.

The Heat had tied the game twice in the fourth, but never led after Novak's 3 that closed the third.

"My thing is to try to be aggressive, make shots," Anthony said. "When you make shots, it makes the game so much easier."

NOTES: It was the fourth time in 25 career games, including playoffs, that Anthony eclipsed the 40-point mark against the Heat. ... Wade and James looked on intently as the Heat showed a video to promote the looming playoffs after the third quarter. Wade shimmied his shoulders a bit afterward, and James started to nod at one of the final images - his sideline dance in the final seconds of Game 5's title-clinching win over Oklahoma City last June. ... Rapper Flo Rida was at the game, as was actor Andy Garcia and Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. ... Of the Knicks' nine remaining games, six are against likely playoff-bound teams.

Copyright 2013 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited

Notebook: Knicks 102, Heat 90

On this night, it may not have mattered if LeBron James and Dwyane Wade were in uniform. New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony scored a career-high tying 50 points in their 102-90 victory against the Heat Tuesday at AmericanAirlines Arena.

Anthony shot 18-for-26 from the field, including 7-for-10 3-pointers. The victory was the Knicks third of the season against the Heat, allowing them to win the season series. Even though the Heat were minus two All-Stars, the win should give the Knicks momentum if the teams meet in the playoffs. It was their third double-digit victory against Miami this season.

It was the second straight game the Heat were without James and Wade. James is dealing with a sore hamstring while Wade is out with a sprained ankle. A third starter, Mario Chalmers, (ankle) also did not play.

After trailing by eight at halftime, the Knicks outscored the Heat by 10 in each of the final two quarters. Anthony led three players in double figures. The victory ended the Heat's 17-game winning streak at home.

Center Chris Bosh led the Heat with 23 points and six rebounds while Mike Miller added 18 points.

QUOTABLE: "He was unbelievable. He refused to let us lose tonight. He made big plays and shots ... He wasn't forcing anything. Some things come easy for great players and tonight he did everything he was supposed to do to put us in position to win." -- Knicks coach Mike Woodson on Anthony

THE STAT: The Knicks shot 14-for-27 from the 3-point line.

TURNING POINT: Anthony didn't take a shot the first half of the fourth quarter, but the Knicks were able to keep pace. Keeping the lead when their star struggled was the confidence boost the Knicks needed.

HOT: The most impressive part about Anthony's performance was his efficiency. He's had big games against the Heat in the past, but never while shooting at such a high percentage. The fact the bulk of Anthony's points came on jumpshots was equally as impressive.

NOT: The Heat could have used a little more aggression from Bosh. He was the team's leading scorer, but he needed to attempt more than 13 shots. Bosh deferred to Mike Miller and Norris Cole in the first half when he could have started faster to avoid playing catch up.

GOOD MOVE: The best strategy for the Knicks was the way they played when Anthony was out of the picture. He sat on the bench the early portion of the fourth quarter and didn't score until the midway point. In that time, they were able to sustain the lead behind J.R. Smith and Raymond Felton.

BAD MOVE:Shane Battier and Udonis Haslem proved to be poor matchups on Anthony all game. Battier had been solid in situations as such in the past, but struggled to stop Anthony on the perimeter. Haslem simply had no answer, either.

NOTABLE: Knicks center Tyson Chandler was back in the lineup after being out with a back injury ... The Heat fell to 32-4 at home ... Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said he will evaluate James, Wade and Chalmers on a daily basis. Chalmers (ankle) missed his third straight game.